The Central Regional Coordinator of the Domestic Violence and Victims’ Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, Mr Appiah Sakyi, has advised Ghanaians not to allow differences in political affiliations to cause violence in the family and domestic settings.
He said it was particularly important for families to allow their members to associate freely with any political party without fear, intimidation or threats.
Mr Sakyi was speaking at a durbar of chiefs and community members at Ajumako to educate the community on the activities of the unit.
The programme was sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Central Regional Coordinating Council to educate the community on what constitutes sexual and gender-based violence.
He urged parents not to force their children or spouses to be members of the same political party that they support.
“We must not abuse family members just because they have different political affiliations. We should not use threats to get them to be in the same party,” he stated.
Modify Traditional Rites
The Acting Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Mrs Thywill Kpe, advised parents not to exhibit violence in front of their children since that attitude would instill bad social behaviour in them.
She also called on the communities to modify traditional rites such as puberty rites to educate girls on responsible reproductive health rites.
She also asked the communities to desist from resolving defilement and rape cases at home and rather report them to the police for redress.
Task force
She called on the chiefs to set up a task force to check sexual and gender-based violence cases in the communities and help the police to deal with them.
The District Police Commander for Ajumako Enyan-Essiam said the DOVVSU office in the district was committed to helping reduce sexual and gender-based violence in the area.
Nana Kwame Essuman, Juantuahen of Ajumako, who chaired the function, pledged to work to reduce sexual and gender-based violence in the communities and help bring perpetrators to book.
Source: Daily Graphic
| Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
